Filling in the Gap
by cardiffictionlocked1895
Summary: AU. Thor and Loki are kidnapped as children. Pre-Thor. Part 1 of the Life as We Never Knew It series. I do not own Marvel or any of its characters
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- Thor:**

I don't remember that much about the night I was kidnapped. I was only eight, and I didn't notice as much as I do now. I do recall that it was pitch dark, and suddenly a hand clamped over my mouth. Acting on instinct, I bit it, but whoever's hand it was didn't even flinch. Then someone pressed something that smelled like lemon up against my nose, and everything got really hazy as I slowly blacked out.

When I came too, I found I was being dragged along a dimly-lit tunnel, by men I didn't recognize. They were wearing all black, except for one, who was wearing normal clothes. He had several gold rings on each hand, and was extremely overweight. We 'walked' in silence for a few minutes, or many it was hours, I really couldn't tell, and then the fat man spoke.

"Did they get the other one?"

One man shook his head. "One moron knocked over a vase or something, and they had to get of there really fast."

The fat man grunted in irritation. "Idiots. They'll have to be more careful tomorrow night, with the doubled security they'll have on him, if they have any interest in keeping their jobs."

The other one? I hoped against hope I didn't know who they were talking about.

Suddenly a man came running out from the shadows toward them.

"Sir!" he called. "I've just got word that our other target has been captured."

"Thank you, Mono," the heavyset man responded. "Good. Now we won't have to wait another night." He was trying to hide it, but I could tell he was excited. That was when reached a door at the end of the tunnel. The fat man pushed it open, revealing a small room filled with bunks, most already housing an occupant, with another door at the opposite end. Most of the men that had dragged me released me and flopped unto beds with sighs with relief and exhaustion. Only the plump man did not relax his tight grip on my shoulder. He roughly steered me into the adjacent room, throwing and pinning me against a pillar in the middle of the room. Then he quickly tied my wrists together behind the pole, and without glancing back, left the room, muttering, "Sweet dreams, _prince_." and slamming the door. I heard the lock clicked. I stared at it in disbelief. This could not be happening to me.

In complete and utter despair, I stared around my prison. It smelled bad, though I was too depressed and tired too really care. A single dying torch sitting in its holder attempted to light the room. Then I noticed the walls. They were covered in scribbles, but that wasn't what stood out to me. It was the blood, splattering in various places. I started hyperventilating. If Father had been there, he would have smacked me for so opening showing fear. Whatever. At the moment I didn't care. Then I found myself sobbing hysterically. I should have been ashamed. But I wasn't. I just couldn't take any more in one night (and, you have to remember, I was only eight).

But, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I did.

I think I must have fallen asleep at one time, because when I opened my eyes again, the door banged open and my little brother landed a few feet away from me, only to be grabbed and forced to his feet by the fat man, who was squeezing his throat between two massive hands. "I don't want no trouble from you, understand?" he growled, shaking him. When Loki either couldn't or wouldn't respond, he shook harder. "Stop it!" I shouted, my voice cracking. I wouldn't stand for this! He was only six! Loki stared at me in horror. "SHUT UP!" the monstrous man screeched in my direction. He turned back to my younger brother. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Loki managed to nod. "Good." the man let him go, and he collapsed onto the cold, hard floor, not moving.

Then the fat man faced me. "When you address me, you will say 'sir', understood?"

"Yessir," I rasped.

"Good. I can see that you probably won't be on my list of the... disposable ones. Keep it up, and I might just keep you. I've been looking for new recruits." Then he sneered at me. "But you're not there just yet." Then he slapped me across the face so hard I knew I'd be out for hours.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Loki**

From the moment I regained consciousness, I fought them. It was completely pointless, since I was still a boy and they had obviously been trained in this. I was going to go easy, though. Besides, I did mostly on instinct. By the time we went through the door the tunnel's end, I had given two men black eyes and one a bloody nose. I could tell the overweight man hated me for it. I didn't care. I had hated him the first time I saw him. With his greasy hair, huge stomach, and too many rings, he was utterly repulsive.

I had been full of energy out in the tunnel. So why did I feel so hopeless when the man locked me in that gross room with Thor? It felt like my whole world was caving in. I bit my lip to keep the tears from showing themselves. I refused to give them the satisfaction. Instead I forced myself to take my surroundings. The smell of urine was a good distraction from my fears. The blood on the walls was pretty helpful, too. But I was most grateful for the words and drawings that been scribbled all over the room. Thor and I had obviously not been this room's first prisoners. Signatures, pleas for helps, and random sketches kept me mesmerized for what I think was about an hour. I tried to imagine how all those boys (they were all boys, some with titles) had gotten here. Had they all meet some horrible fate? That would explain the blood.

Eventually I remembered Thor. He was still tied to the pillar, out cold. I went over and untied him. He must have been waking up, because when he slumped to the floor, he leaned forward and started vomiting. The smell alone drove me back a couple feet. It was mostly stomach acid, since we hadn't had anything to eat since dinner, which had been hours ago.

Finally, Thor stopped retching, and leaned back against the pillar, taking deep breaths.

"Uh...Thor..." I didn't really know what to say.

"I'm fine." he gasped.

As he spoke, the door burst open. Light flooded the room, temporarily blinding us. I saw the shape of my enemy for a second as he hurled something into the room, then the door slammed, and the shadows crept back in. I noticed then that the something was a boy about my brother's age. He was very scrawny, with dirty blond hair cut unevenly. He stared at us in what looked like awe.

"So this is what the rich kids look like, huh?" He broke into a crooked smile that seemed truly out of place. When we didn't answer, he continued. "See, I'm new here, haven't seen a lotta rich recruits. That's what he'll do with you. Sol. You know, the big man? He'll recruit you, if you're lucky. If not, he'll kill you."

Thor found his voice first. "So you mean..."

"It's join or die? Yes. Not a hard choice, that." The strange boy must have been from the north. He sure talked like he was. "This here room we're in, this in the Punishment Room. See, I'm getting punished 'cause I knocked over somethin' on a mission, the guards came running. Had to postpone the kidnapping." He looks at me and grins again. "That was your kidnapping, I think." He laughs like it's the funniest thing he's ever said. What is wrong with him? "So anyway," he goes on, "Right now Sol is deciding what to do with you. If he thinks you could be a recruit, he'll move you to holding cell for training. If not, well, you better hope your family can pay the ransom, or-" He cuts off suddenly. The look on his face tells me he's said too much. I knew even at six how that sentence would end.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, and then suddenly the door flies open again with a bang, and two guards storm in, grabbing Thor and I and dragging us unceremoniously out of the room, toward the unknown.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- Mason**

The dorm was already pretty crowded before the two newest strangers entered, but as soon as they were in, the room seemed even smaller than normal. That was how big the air was around them. One of them, at least. That, and the way they carried themselves and their slightly strange clothing suggested that they were royalty. From some weird, remote place I've never even heard of, probably. They sat down next to each other on a bottom bunk near mine. One boy looked really young, with dark eyes and hair. The other one was significantly older, and blonde. That was the egotistical one, for sure. I made my way over to them. I was just curious; we hadn't gotten very many newcomers lately, and these two didn't look as gloomy and chronically depressed as most of the other kids here, so maybe I might actually be able to hold one conversation here that wasn't morbidly pessimistic and destined to end after approximately three sentences.

"Hi, I'm Mason." I said as soon as I reached them. "I know, weird name right?"

The older one looked at me with uncertainty, but the younger one answered right away. "Hello, I'm Loki and this is Thor."

I snorted. "And I thought I had a weird name."

The kid Loki scowled. "What realm are you from?"

"Realm? You mean like, planet? Earth, then. _Duh._"

Loki wrinkled his nose. "Earth? You came a long way."

"Oh, and where are _you_ from, then?"

"Asgard." He pauses. "_Duh._"

I look at the older kid. "Asgard? Is that, like, his word for Africa or something?"

Thor, I think was his name, replies. "No. It's just Asgard. That's what it's called." He's staring at me strangely, like I'm missing something obvious.

I just say "Oh," lamely.

Loki looks up at him. "What's A-free-ca?"

Thor just shrugs. These guys are so weird. I decide to change the subject. "These people are so crazy, don't you think? I mean, they're kidnapping five year olds!"

Loki bristles. "I'm six. Not five, _six._" His voice is like ice.

"Okay, fine, man. Chill out." I hastily fix my now obvious mistake. We were in a very tense atmosphere. No doubt the kid would by touchy about his age, even if it was just a year. "But, just wondering, how do you not know what Africa is? It's, like, the second biggest continent."

"Second biggest continent of Earth. But this Asgard. How many times most I repeat myself?" Apparently, Thor is in an easily irritated mood right now too.

Okay, now I'm really starting to get worried. Didn't those extremely creepy blue kids across the room just say something about how hot Asgard is? What if I'm not on Earth anymore?! I can feel myself starting to panic. Stop and think before you go insane, I tell myself. I mean, I know I got knocked out and everything, and woke up here, but that doesn't mean they took me to a whole different planet-

Suddenly the Loki guy's oddly frightened voice mercifully breaks my train of thought. "Thor, are those Frost Giants?" he asked, pointing at the blue-skinned kids, his voice trembling. "What if they see us?"

"I don't know..." Thor's voice trails off, but his eyes tell the real story. He's truly afraid. I have no idea why. I mean, sure, those kids did look pretty freaky with their weird skin color and red eyes and no way to tell if they were male or female and the strange patterns on their skin and the stalkerish way they looked at you and...okay, fine, I was a little freaked out too.

That's when I started to really look around. I noticed that most of the kids here were wearing clothes like Thor and Loki, and then it hit me: I was definitely not on Earth anymore. No doubt about it. Kids shouldn't have blue skin. Clothes didn't look like that. Either this was a very long, very realistic, and very frightening dream, or...or...

I couldn't even think the words. All of the sudden I had a random flashback of the watching _The Wizard of Oz_ a couple years ago. A single line jumped into my mind as the ground flew toward my face (or was my face flying toward it?):

_We're not in Kansas anymore._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- Loki**

When I saw the boy called Mason faint, I was absolutely positive the Frost Giants had done it. But I was only six, so don't judge me. That was just where my mind went. Thor apparently had the same idea, because he promptly began hyperventilating. "Thor," I hissed at him. "Stop it. They're going to see us and make us faint too!"

That only increased his hyperventilating in both speed and volume. Crap. This was not going how it was supposed to at all. But, as it turned out, the Frost Giants didn't get a chance to make us collapse, or whatever, because just then the door bursts open and slams against the wall. Everyone looks up. There's another guard standing there. I never thought that I'd ever be grateful to hear a kidnapper say to me "Time for lunch, kiddies!" but I guess, things change. Either way, I was starving, and I think if we didn't get out of that small room soon, Thor was going to explode. They end up taking us into another room identical to the last one, except instead of bunks there are tables and benches. Great. Thor and I sit down on the nearest one. Mason, who finally woke up, sits across from us. "Hey, guys." He says cheerily. Neither Thor nor I reply. They set bowls of something slimy and mushy and gray in front of us. Okay, no way was I eating _that._

"I'll pass." I said warily.

Mason was staring at me. "Wow, Loo-ki," he struggled with my name. "You sure are green."

I made a face at him, but he was actually _eating_ the stuff, so he didn't notice.

"How can you eat that?!" I asked, horrified.

"How can you not? Aren't you hungry? It's only oatmeal." Mason said innocently.

"Of course I'm hungry, but no way am I eating that. It could be poisoned, you know."

Thor, who had been brave enough (or stupid enough) to take a bite, started gagging immediately.

"Thor, don't you _dare_ spit that back out." Mason was turning kind of greenish himself at the thought of seeing Thor's food the second time around.

I could see he's about to lose it anyway when the door was flung open, hitting the wall so hard it makes a dent- What _is_ it with these people?- and once again, some guy came over and without any explanation, went back out with Thor and I in tow. Somehow, I didn't think we were going back to the dorm then, or, from the look of the guys sharpening swords in the concrete room we were being pulled toward, anytime soon.

But it wasn't not over yet. Just before we left, I managed to whisper something to Mason. Just in case freedom didn't come easily. And I was sure it wouldn't.

I was right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- Thor**

It's just lovely, right after you've eaten something that makes you want to puke, to be dragged a few hundred yards up a bumpy and rocky hill to- of all places- a graveyard. The sensation grew stronger as the man shoved me hard against a half-crumbled tombstone, hissing at me to stay low, and I knew that it might get to a point, sooner or later, where I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I tried to prolong this as I listened to the conversation the men who had brought Loki and I up the mountain were now having.

"Think they'll come?" said the shorter of the two.

"Of course they will." the other was a giant compared to Shorty, but then again, he probably dwarfed most people. "Why wouldn't they?"

"I dunno; maybe 'cause that punk doesn't know when to stop."

Loki ignored them, which was easy, since his back was toward them. But from my vintage point, I could tell he was angry.

"So much for being a prince. He's got no manners." Shorty snorted.

I could tell they were trying to provoke him now. Loki could too. Which was the only reason he and I were holding back.

"So if he's coming, where are they?" the giant grunted just as a dozen lantern lights appeared a short distance away, piercing the fog that had begun to drift in around us.

"Look alive," muttered Shorty. The giant suddenly grabbed me and lifted me roughly to my knees. I saw sliver flash by, thinking, oh, joy. I'm being held at sword point. This has to be the highlight of my horrible day. I can see from the corner of my eye that my brother is in the same position, rolling his eyes.

Then the figures on the horizon became recognizable. Twelve palace guards with my father leading them.

They stop a few feet away. Father's face is a mask of indifference. I knew enough about bargaining to not be offended by this. It's extremely important to seem impassive, especially considering what's at risk.

"I don't have time to chat. Hand them over." My father's voiced boomed.

"Not until I'm holding the money."

I see the sack being passed to my enemy, hear the click of coins. Then: "If you value your head, keep still and silent and close your eyes when I say so." it's just a hiss. I have no choice but to obey it. Even if it means pretending to die...then I notice Loki's eyes. They're wild with fear. Somehow I know his death won't be pretend. Just because they actually want _me_ to survive doesn't, mean Loki's not...

Expandable.

Horror fills me, blocking out all other feelings...

And that was when the lunchroom, which we surprisingly still had a view of, burst into flames.

Suddenly Mason runs from the flames, leading all the other kids, yelling, "DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE MUTANTS!

All the while shooting arrows at almost everyone he sees. I feel the Giant let go of me as an arrow sprouts from his back. Blood was all around me, but I ignored it and whoever it was coming from as I ran toward my father. Loki is already getting on his horse behind Father, who pulls me up and then we're off. Going home. What a night, I think as I start to drift, staring into the deep purple dawn that's appearing around us, cutting through the thick fog. Or maybe the fog was part of my dream...


End file.
